NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

2016 World Conference against A & H Bombs Declaration of the International Meeting Seventy one years ago, the USA used nuclear bombs for the first time against humanity by releasing atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With tremendous destructive power and radiation, the two bombs burned out the cities and claimed the lives of about 210,000 people by the end of the year. It was a hell on earth. The Hibakusha who survived then had to suffer from latent effects and social discrimination for many subsequent years. Such inhumane weapons should not be used again in any circumstances whatsoever. The nuclear powers still maintain more than 15,000 nuclear warheads. Not a small number of them are on alert for launch. The concern for the outbreak of nuclear war due to deteriorating regional tensions is real. A recent study shows that even if only a small percentage of existing nuclear weapons are used, it would cause serious climate change and would bring the huma

In a few days I'll be heading to Japan to teach there but also learn more about peace, demilitarization and antinuclear movements there. Later this year I'll be traveling to Okinawa to work more with independence and demilitarization groups there. Somewhere on the horizon is a trip I'm planning to take to Taiwan to meet with indigenous groups. I wrote an article several years ago on solidarity in the Asia-Pacific region, and argued a core feature of it was imagination and sharing an imaginary. One of the most intriguing aspects of human consciousness is the way we can feel disconnected to those right next to us and intimately connected to people on the other side of the world. Proximity or similarity don't necessarily dictate these things, because there is always the possibility of solidarity, that disparate groups can nonetheless find a common cause of purpose or goal together. If we consider all the islands that have been damaged by US military testing, training and

I have been to Okinawa twice over the past year. The first time last November for the Japan Peace Conference and then earlier this year in May, where I traveled with Ed Alvarez (director of the Commission on Decolonization) and former Guam Senator Marilyn Manibusan on a solidarity trip to meet with Okinawans interested in discussing decolonization. I saw so many things, meggai lini'e'-hu guihi, but one image that has stayed with me is a military fence covered in brightly colored ribbons.  The fence in question was part of Camp Schwab near Henoko Bay in Northeastern Okinawa. It is the site of a proposed expansion of US facilities in the island and so it has been a site for regular protest and resistance as well. In order to secure the closing of Futenma in Ginowan City, a base that lies right in the middle of a crowded urban area, the US required that their bases in the north of the island be expanded to make up for the loss of their facility. As part

The Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong received 45 messages of solidarity from around the world (one of them from me). All of them were translated into Korean so that the marchers could see the support and encouragement they were receiving from far off places such as Germany, Palestine, Ireland, India and even East Timor. Some of the messages are pasted below: ********************************** Taro Abe , Nagoya, Japan 皆さんの活動に心から敬意を表します。 「済州島平和の巡礼：カンジョンの平和のための大行進」 の成功をお祈りしています。 阿部太郎（名古屋市・日å本） 여러분의 활동에 진심으로 경의를 나타냅니다. "제주도 평화 순례 : 강정의 평화를위한 대행진 '의 성공을 기원합니다. 아베 타로 (나고야 · 일본) I sincerely express my respect to your struggle. I pray for the success of the 'Jeju Island Peace Pilgrim: Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong.' Abe  Taro  (Nagoya, Japan) ………………………………………………………………………….. Elliott Adams , Past President, Veterans For Peace, USA  I served in the Republic Of Korea as part of the US Army, I have been to Jeju. The destruction of Gangeong